1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method of encryption key recovery on an integrated circuit, and more particularly relates to a method of establishing a trusted key relationship with an authorized party which allows a user to recover an encryption key in a secure manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Key recovery is typically used to retrieve a copy of a private key when the key is lost, or is unknown to an employer, or when a court order has granted a government agency the right to monitor communication traffic. A lost key results in lost data because without the key, the encrypted data cannot be decrypted. A disk holding the key may be lost or a hardware failure may result in a lost key. A user needs to have the ability to recover a lost key. An employer may need to recover private keys generated by former or disgruntled employees to retrieve corporate information. A government authority may need a private key to observe an encrypted data transmission when there is a suspicion of criminal activity. The typical method of key recovery includes sending a wrapped copy of the private key with each transmission. Then under the appropriate circumstances, this key may be unwrapped with a recovery key.